Swan Song
by SnoOza
Summary: Songfic to Mugen no Kaze of Shuro's thoughts during her last moments, and her 'reunion' with Kei. :) Based on the manga.


Hey everyone! This is my little tribute to my favourite pairing of all time, Shuro and Kei! It's a songfic to Mugen no Kaze, which is by rights Shuro and Kei's song anyway, but it made a nice song to write to! I only put the English translation to the song because if not it'd have been a bit messy, and I got this translation from this great website which I can't remember the link to anymore…sorry. ^^ This story is about Shuro's last moments and her thoughts.   
  
Oh, forgot to say something **very important**. This fic is based on the manga and not the crummy anime which crammed Shuro into one episode and totally screwed up Shuro's story. Trust me, in the manga Shuro's story is a lot more tragic. So if you've only watched the anime, just try reading this fic first! Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it! A lot of thanks to my beta mich! :D   
  
Disclaimer: Ayashi no Ceres, Shuro and Kei and Mugen no Kaze do not belong to me in anyway (damn)   
  
**Swan Song**   
  
_The light of the sunset spreads,   
Colouring your profile   
Oh sky, don't lose   
Those enchanting colours_   
  
The last ray of coral sunlight played off the familiar sandy brown hair, endearingly nostalgic as it ruffled easily in the artificial wind of the concert hall. Then, a dark drape was flung over the gloaming and night kissed the isolated figure in all its black gloom. With a blink of the eye Kei's hair was a rigidly dyed blond, belonging to a technician doing last minute preparations for the big concert due to take place in less than an hour.   
  
_I guess everything fades   
And changes with time   
You too, will wave "bye"   
As you walk on_   
  
Shuro Tsukasa stood erect in the middle of the stage, still dressed in her street clothes from when she had visited Aya that afternoon. The microphone lay limp in her right hand, seeming to curve naturally into the familiar grooves of her hand. Her midnight black hair flopped over violently mauve eyes that trailed listlessly after the young technician. He paused by the side entrance, the pale fluorescence of the exit light throwing his features into relief, and for a moment Kei's hand was up in a characteristically careless farewell, before the door shut with a determined click and the technician left. A blink dislodged the precariously defiant tear, which slipped onto her lips with an explosion of salty sweetness as they parted in a voiceless plea. Kei…   
  
_But there are some things that don't ever change,   
That can't ever be put into words   
The feelings that fill your heart._   
  
Why? Why did you leave me, Kei? Just before you went, you said I was always better than you in singing, but was the pain such that you had to beat me even until death curled its lifeless tendrils around you? I never meant it that way, Kei. I just felt happy with you. I wanted to protect this little happiness of mine. Was that so wrong? I tried so hard to be a boy, Kei, I thought that was what you wanted. I thought it was what I wanted too. Or did I? Maybe I knew all along, but I was too afraid, I was so afraid, Kei, I would destroy my happiness. I was selfish, so I planted the seeds of our crevasse. And now it's too late, too late to admit what has always been choking the back of my throat…   
  
I love you, Kei, so much that my heart aches with the pain of a thousand knives, but still that those words come nowhere close to describing the bittersweet pain that flows through my veins. I can imagine the scorn with which you'd react if you hear me say all this. Sentimentalist schmaltz, you'd say. You, the playboy. Romance never meant much to you. If I ever suggested singing this song, you'd probably toss it out the window. It's even funnier that I wrote this song for you. I'm sorry, Kei, but I have to. I have kept so many secrets for so long, this is my last chance to say what I really feel. I will not. I will not go smothered in robes of secrecy.   
  
"Shuro! Backstage!"   
  
"Ah, coming!"   
  
_Pain, come now,   
Become the gentle breeze.   
Keep blowing,   
To wrap around your hunched shoulders.   
I am always watching you   
Even if   
You're in a far off place_   
  
Shuro felt the air conditioning ripple through her hair, throwing it into an outrageous frenzy as she flashed Colgate-white smiles at her frantic audience of more than a thousand. She closed her eyes, tuning out the caterwauling of her clamouring fans as the live band started playing and the first strains of the melody swirled around her ears. Shuro opened her eyes in a flash of incandescent violet and spoke.   
  
"This song is dedicated to my deceased singing partner in GeSANG and life-long friend, Kei!"   
  
Shuro:   
_If we are reborn,   
I will be born as myself   
Then I will find you,   
Once again._   
  
I lie. Though I sing this, I have no idea where I'll go when I die, much less whether I'll return to this Earth in any sort of form. Maybe I'll just end. Full stop. And I'm so scared of that. I don't want to go, to lose these memories of us. I wanted to go on living for you, Kei, to keep you alive in our shared reminiscences. I don't ever want to forget. But…I'm sorry, Kei. I have to do this. For the others I love, because they loved me in a way you never could, need me in a way you never did. Shuro closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This is for you, Aya, Chidori, Yuuhi, Tooya, my fans, everyone. Live my share for me.   
  
Shuro:   
_Even though all things have a shape,   
Have limits,   
I want to tell you that there are some things that never fade._   
  
Shuro could feel, rather than hear, the collective gasp of shock from everyone as her hair lengthened and her body transformed into Juno, the tennyo symbol suddenly flashing a deep amethyst beneath her feet. She winced as the pain of her cells rejecting the tennyo blood shot its way through her body, but steeled her will from transforming back. I have to do this, Shuro thought, Juno's celestial voice increasing the power of her voice, enunciating every sweet, joyful and painful emotion she'd ever experienced as she channelled her strength towards the Kagami Institute. All in the concert hall were still in unmitigated awe, ignoring the vibrating stage and flickering lights as Juno's voice, stripped of all human pretences, swelled the room with a heartfelt harmony of innocence.   
  
Shuro:   
_Just because you were nearby   
That alone enabled me   
To walk even this rocky a road_   
  
Shuro's face flushed with exertion and exhilaration as she allowed the resonance of Juno's voice to carry her along, her heart brimming with indefinable emotions. Was that what it meant to be a Tennyo? Having the ability to share such beautiful, no, heavenly gifts with the world? Thank you, Kei, for letting me enjoy this blessed feeling in my chest now. Because of you, because I remember you, I had the strength to throw away my disguises, to end it for the sake of those I love. Thank…A sudden lightning bolt of agony snapped in Shuro's body, shattering all thoughts as she faltered, feeling herself morph back into her human form. No! She shrieked mentally, flailing out at her weakening resolve. It is not yet enough! The foundations of the Institute can hardly be shaken yet, at this distance. I will not let it end here! I refuse to gain back a rag doll of a life because I couldn't stand some pain. I must – an electrifying spasm of pain ricocheted through her body, and her breath hitched on the next line.   
  
Kei:   
_Loneliness, come now,   
Become an eternal wind. From now on,   
Keep blowing,   
Pushing at your back as you walk alone.   
I want to save you with love unseen   
Until we meet again someday._   
  
Shuro's eyes dilated in shock as she felt a gentle pressure on the clenched fingers of her left hand. Sudden warmth flowed through her body as she loosened her fingers to welcome the ghostly touch of her dead partner. A pain completely unlike that of before, a heartbreak that licked at the eclipsed recesses of her soul, engulfed her as her eyes traced the fragile translucence of Kei's body, heaving in rhythm with the music as he sang. Iridescent tears were whipped into the updraft caused by the already waning energy of Juno's tennyo symbol, swirling and dissembling crystals of spurned grief that went up and up. The incorporeal touch of Kei's hand intensified slightly and he turned briefly towards her, a tender caress in his eyes, so alien, yet so akin to Kei. The tips of his lips tilted into a gentle smile that kissed her disbelieving eyes into pacified submission. A new strength blossomed from within her heart, enveloping her in its healing warmth.   
  
_Now, unchanging things are nothing but   
Continually glittering sentiments   
That have gone unspoken._   
  
Juno's voice pulsed with overwhelming power, fuelled by Shuro's renewed will. Do you hear me, Kei? This is how I feel. How I've always felt, but I didn't want to admit it then. Even now, I'm afraid. But this time it's different, Kei. This time I'm going to say goodbye the way I wanted to. I won't lie for the sake of happy untruth. Even if it doesn't mean anything to you, thank you for giving me this strength to help the others I love. This beautiful, empowering, healing feeling that I now drown in, what is it? Kei turned back to the audience, as ever the star entertainer, but Shuro was sure that before that he had murmured something…It's called love.   
  
Shuro smiled.   
  
Shuro:   
_Pain, come now,   
Become the gentle breeze.   
Keep blowing,   
To wrap around your hunched shoulders_   
  
The tears flowing freely from her eyes blurred her vision into a wacky haze of vibrant, luminescent colours, but Kei's eyes, an unusually frank cinnamon brown, continued to embrace her with an intensity of emotion that adumbrated everything else with its shy love. All she saw, all she needed to see.   
  
Kei:   
_I am always watching you_   
  
Shuro and Kei:   
_Even if You are in a far off place_   
  
All sounds were spiralled into nothingness and the world coagulated into a dazzling white as Shuro collapsed on the stage floor. There was a sudden flurry of movement as people rushed onto the stage to revive the famous singer, but it soon became apparent there was no longer any cause to hurry. The tennyo symbol flickered and died almost immediately, though the echoing strains of Shuro Tsukasa's swan song still coloured the air.   
  
_Let's stay together forever.   
  
Okay._   
  
~owari~ 


End file.
